Entries tagged with: TheBlackKeys

Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and Jim Carrey performed as "A Taste of New York" on Saturday Night Live this past weekend (on 1/8). A Taste of New York is an "authentic" band from "an area between Avenue B & Avenue C" in New York City. And though Holy Sons are from the West Coast, we have learned that the sketch/song was inspired by new Holy Sons song "A Chapter Must Be Closed" from the recent Survivalist Tales. Fred Armisen watched the video for the song and the rest is history. Compare/contrast the videos below.

Musical duo Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (ex Sleater-Kinney, current Wild Flag) go way back. Their Thunderant series of videos have been making the rounds online for years, and so it's pretty awesome that they've landed a "6-part IFC Original short-based comedy series" called Portlandiawhich premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC. "Each episode's character-based shorts draw viewers into "Portlandia," the creators' dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon."

""This festival is super-cool," said Strokes singer Julian Casablancas from the stage at Austin City Limits on Friday night. "Lotta stuff." It's true: The festival, now in its ninth year, packs 130 bands onto eight outdoor stages arranged around the 350-acre Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The lineup is a mix of huge rock acts (the Eagles headline Sunday) and big-name indie bands, plus DJs, country singers and the occasional rapper. With an expected attendance of around 70,000 a day, the festival similar in size, if not in spirit, to Lollapalooza. "Lollapalooza has that city energy. It's like the hot girl you want to take home," one organizer, Lisa Hickey, said. "ACL is more laid-back -- it's like your best friend." And unlike South By Southwest, the music and film showcase that takes over the Texas town every spring, ACL doesn't have much of a music-industry angle -- it's almost strictly for fans.

On Friday night, the packed lineup presented the crowd with a happy problem: Four big-name guitar bands -- Spoon, Sonic Youth, Vampire Weekend, and the Strokes -- all had sets starting within two hours of each other, and seeing each set in its entirety was impossible."
[Rolling Stone]

Of those big four, Tim managed to catch three, and a bit of Vampire Weekend's favorite band Phish from afar. Phish's set included a Velvet Underground and a Talking Heads cover. Full setlist at the end of this post.

Kings Go Forth pictures are HERE. The rest of the pictures from the first day of the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival (where Ezra Koenig joined Miike Snow on stage), continue, with a bunch of setlists (including Spoon's which points out that Eleanor Friedberger played a Fiery Furnaces song with Spoon) (video proof too), below...

After playing a free show at Mercury Lounge, Maxwell's, and ATP NY in the span of three days, The Greenhornes will circle back to NYC for an encore at Bowery Ballroom on 11/30 with Cory Chisel & The Wandering SonsThe Ettes. Tickets go on sale Friday 10/8 at noon. The show is one of a few select US dates and the only East Coast date (thus far) for the band following a UK tour.

Those of you planning your New Years Eve can head out to Chicago. The band will be opening for the Black Keysat the Aragon Ballroom that night and on New Years Day.

Full tour dates for The Greenhornes are below, as well as a lost set of pics from ATP NY 2010, where the band played a mid-day set on ATP's third day at Kutchers. The band also played Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence Kansas over this past weekend. Vaudeville Villain was there and wrote, "The Greenhornes had just started their set. Never heard of them. They were incredible. Stripped down, pounding garage rock."

Black Milk will team up with his uber-buzzy mic controller Decon label-mate Freddie Gibbs for a show at SOBs on Tuesday (August 3rd, tickets). The show will double as a record release party for Gibbs, as he readies his new EP Str8 Killa due that same day (git it) and accompanying (requisite?) mixtape, available for free download HERE. In addition, Gibbs has pounded out a new video for the lead single from Str8 Killa, "National Anthem", available below

The eight-track Gibbs EP also features a song called "Oil Money" that features guest spots by Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids, Chip Tha Ripper, Bun B & The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. Download that track free HERE or HERE. Read more about the THREE Black Keys shows that just happened in NYC here, here, and here.

Black Milk's new LP Album Of The Yearis due on September 14th, and the beat god (and damn fine MC) dropped a video album trailer for that LP today. View that below along with the album's tracklisting, some other video and full Freddie Gibbs tour dates...

Despite playing a headlining show at Summerstage earlier in the evening, the Black Keys still managed to melt faces for 90 minutes and 22 songs at Terminal 5 last night (7/28). The SPIN/ZYNC show, the third in a series of five, was opened by The Whigs and Lee Fields and the Expressions (including some familiar Daptone faces)...

"But the show belonged to Auerbach and Carney -- even when they had help. About halfway into the set, two members of Fields' backing band came out to play bass and keyboard for a few numbers. The extra muscle made songs such as Brother's "Everlasting Light" sound a tad conventional when compared to the lean aggression that fired "I Got Mine," from 2008's Attack & Release, but the former song's creeping eighth note bassline and eerie, clanging keyboard stabs were thrilling in their own right." [SPIN]

"With tonight's show, [The Black Keys] started off with the two of them, then added a few backing musicians for the new tunes. The new stuff lit a match for the night because when it's just the two of them in a venue of thousands of people, you tend to want something with a little more energy and activity.

I didn't plan on going to either gig tonight, but extra tickets were given to me. Ding dong, I'll take them. I was late getting there and arrived when Morning Benders announced their standard, "We have two songs left." Thus, I was stuck in the back. Let me tell you, I've been spoiled with my small shows, photo passes and being upfront, because standing in the back sucks. Especially at SummerStage because Rumsey Playfield slopes down to allow for drainage. DRAAAAAAAAAINAGE, ELI!" [Music Snobbery]

For the Black Keys it was their first show of the night. They played Terminal 5 later last night. All three NYC shows sold out well in advance. It's only a matter of time before they join the ranks of Phoenix and Arcade Fire as MSG headliners (they opened for Pearl Jam at the big venue in May).

"Patrick Carney (drums) and Dan Auerbach (guitar/vocals) held their own through a high-energy, in-your-face performance that included favorites like "I Got Mine" off the album "Attack and Release." The duo filled the amphitheater with ear-pounding precision despite looking a little lonely on the huge stage for most of the set. The crowd responded jubilantly to the Keys' classic style and the band fed off the upbeat vibe, funneling its stripped-down sound all the way out to the lost lawn dwellers.

But The Flaming Lips, a band known for its ridiculous stage antics, was in a league of its own. The band was birthed on to the stage, emerging from a projected 30-foot vagina. Wayne Coyne, looking much like a fetus in a growing uterus, slowly stood up within a huge, plastic sphere that he called a "spaceball" and rolled his way through the pavilion on the hands of fans during the opening track, "Worm Mountain." The only word that came to mind was "epic."" [Rochester City Newspaper]

Last night, Wednesday, July 28th, the Flaming Lips followed their three NY shows with another appearance on Letterman. It was at least their fourth. Videos of all four (including "Vaseline" in 1995!) below...

"The last rays of sunlight were creeping up the Sycamore trees as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys loped onto Central Park's Summerstage Tuesday evening. As they kicked off their set I was instantly reminded as to why I hold the Black Keys in high esteem - simply put, they rock.

With Auerbach on his amped up Gibson and Carney sitting high above the crowd, they commanded the crowd's affection as they tore through a string of older songs, including "Thickfreakness", "The Breaks" and, "Busted" (one of the first songs they ever wrote), before inviting a bass and keyboard player onstage for some of their new material off Brothers. Highlights from their new material included "Everlasting Light" and their cut, "Chop & Change", from the new Eclipse soundtrack. (Say what you will about the Twilight series, but the song is damn good)."
[The Docta's Notes]

The Black Keys and The Morning Benders kicked off a tour at Central Park Summerstage in NYC last night (7/27), except they aren't going very far yet. Both bands return to the same venue for the 2nd night in a row tonight (7/28).

And hopefully the Black Keys are resting right now because Summerstage is only their first of two shows this evening. After that, they head over to Terminal 5 to headline night three of the SPIN/Zync shindigs (I heard they go on around midnight after opening sets by The Whigs and Lee Fields).

It's a busy week for big NYC shows. The Flaming Lips are here for two performances, starting with the gig tonight/Monday at Central Park SummerStage. Oneida opens. The Flaming Lips show Tuesday night at Terminal 5 is part of the Spin25 series of gigs running each day this week.

Spin25, sponsored by American Express's new ZYNC card (as you can see in the picture above), kicks off with Smashing Pumpkins tonight at Terminal 5, and continues with Flaming Lips on July 27th, the Black Keys on July 28th, the National on July 29th (all at Terminal 5), and Spiritualized on July 30th at Radio City. Show openers are listed below (Spiritualized, which has no opener, is the only one with tickets available currently).

If you don't have tickets, we're offering one more chance for you to see the shows. We have two pairs of tickets to give away to each of the last four (that's all minus Smashing Pumpkins). Details on that are below...

Several of the above bands have more shows this week too. The Black Keysplay two SummerStage shows with the Morning Benders on July 27th and 28th (the second being the an early show on same night they play T5). Those two shows are also a tour kick-off for the two bands. All dates below.

"Auerbach and Carney, who used to tour as a duo, will be joined by some extra players for the first time.

"We might bring out a couple of people to play a few of songs with us," he said. "The majority of the set will still be two-piece, but [we'll] have a couple of guys come out because we really like a lot of the arrangements on the record and it would be fun to be able to do those live instead of having to strip down. We've got two guys who helped us with the live Blakroc stuff, and we became friends with. Leon Michels, a keyboardist and Nick Movshon on bass -- they're pretty tight." [express night out] (via)

Cherry Lane Music Publishing, the top indie music publisher in the US, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a party, May 19, at trend-setting Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The event will include performances by many of the company's current roster, which include, John Legend, Delta Spirit, Madi, Antigone Rising, Dilana, Moe as well as the first-signed writer to Cherry Lane, folk legend Tom Paxton. Special celebrity guests will appear for stop and repeat. Six Points Craft Ales will be providing the beer for the evening. [All About Jazz]

The Black Keys play Housing Works tonight. Check out their new video for "Tighten Up" is below.

dj Ravves and others can be found at Monster Island tonight. Flyer below....

AOL is streaming the entire SNL skit-inspired MacGruber movie soundtrack, which like the new Twilight movie, contains a Black Keys song. Unlike Twilight, MacGruber has three songs by SNL & MacGruber actress and comedian Kristen Wiig (so MacGruber wins). Download one of them for free above.

"The Austin City Limits Music Festival began as a modest, two-day event and now, as it enters it's 9th year, has become a perennial American music experience. Taking place at the heart of Austin, Texas in the legendary Zilker Park, ACL Festival has grown to 3 days, 8 stages and over 130 bands."

"Fans have overwhelmingly expressed, in 354+ comments on The Black KeysFacebook page, that the band has "sold out" following an announcement that a new song, "Chop And Change", will be a part of the soundtrack for the third installment of extremely popular vampire movie franchise "Twilight".

The Black Keys' have sold out? Yeah, sure. If anything, they've finally just sold in on their own terms.

In most cases, the term "sold out" would be fantastic news to artists in regards to shows, books, CDs, etc. It simply claims that the artist/event is doing so well that they have run out of space or items and that it is pretty much exclusive and rare - a privilege, really. It's heartbreaking to the people who did not get a chance to be a part of it, but it does hint at success, which can obviously be rendered in many different ways. For people who appreciate "underground" or lesser-known works or talents, however, "selling out" is the worst possible brand that you can get from a fan - it pretty much means that you are now not good enough to be appreciated anymore, and that you are now "mainstream" or "too trendy."" [The Black Keys Fan Lounge]

"The Black Keys' new album, Brothers, is due May 18 on Nonesuch Records. In conjunction with the album's release, the band will launch an exclusive pop-up store at New York City's Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, one of downtown New York's most vital community institutions. The pop-up store will be open from May 18 through May 20 only, highlighted by an intimate performance by The Black Keys on May 19 from which 100% of ticket proceeds will go directly to Housing Works, Inc., which provides housing, healthcare, job training, and advocacy for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS."

Tickets are on sale, and it's actually only one of at least two shows the Black Keys will play while they're in town. The other one is free. All dates below...

Passion Pit, The Black Keys and Ting Tings will all be playing free shows in NYC sometime soon. There's a Facebook event page for the shows, but very little information otherwise. They're being sponsored by Kin, which is a new Windows-based phone. Kin is also putting on two free shows in San Francisco - one with Yeasayer and one with NERD & Asher Roth - on May 8th.

Two of the bands playing NYC have other shows coming up in the city and world: check out our latest posts on Passion Pit and Black Keys.

Built to Spill and The Black Keys are both opening for Kings of Leon on their North American tour this summer. Their travels together don't come near New York City though. The closest Kings of Leon get is the Altantic City Borgata, and that's with The Whigs opening. Tickets are on sale (and only $125).

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

The Black Keys will be on the road this summer to support their new record, Brothers, which comes out May 18th on Nonesuch. One of the gigs on that tour is at Central Park Summerstage on July 27th. That date has sold out, and the band has added a second show for the next day, Wednesday, July 28th. Tickets go on AmEx presale today (Wednesday, March 31st) at 11am. There's also a fan presale that and other dates going on now.

Those who purchase pre-sale tickets through the band's website, theblackkeys.com, will receive a special bundle, which includes a copy of Brothers (digital only or physical and digital, CD or vinyl) upon release. Additionally, pre-sale tickets will come with an instant download of two tracks from Brothers-"Tighten Up" and "Next Girl."

Before then, The Black Keys will be opening for Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 20th. They'll also play Letterman and Jimmy Fallon on May 25th and 26th to support the new record. Check out "Tighten Up," a Danger Mouse-produced song from the album, at their MySpace. Speaking of Danger Mouse, they shared a bill with him at their only SXSW show.